Last week the husband and I were invited down to Crossgar for a tour and tasting session at the Shortcross Gin Distillery – Slainte!
The Rademon Estate in County Down is one of the oldest historic estates in Ireland, and since 2014 it has been the home of Shortcross Gin.
Shortcross owners Fiona and David are immensely proud of their gin, and so they should be – Shortcross Gin is not only Northern Ireland’s first craft gin, it has also won the most awards out of all the gins distilled on island of Ireland.
Aiming to rekindle a distilling tradition that spans back centuries in Ireland, creating Shortcross Gin has been a true love affair for David and Fiona. It has taken time to build and create their distillery. They took the time to travel the world and hone their skills, this is why when they distil they do so slowly. Each bottle of Shortcross Gin is hand bottled, wax dipped and signed. The process may be slow but it’s a true craft. Each Shortcross bottle is unique.
We were booked in for the evening tour which started at 6pm so as soon as we arrived home from work we hopped in the car and were on our way. Crossgar is about 40 minutes drive for us and I would thoroughly recommend nominating a designated driver. For us, that designated driver was me… thanks Alan.
I was going to write something here about how I’m not a big drinker so I didn’t mind driving, but that would just be a big old fib – I was actually bribed into driving with the promise that Alan would buy me a bottle of Shortcross to bring home. Apparently compromising leads to a long and happy marriage.
The Rademon Estate itself is steeped in history. The House was built circa. 1667 by the Johnson family – unfortunately no relation – whose heiress married James Crawford of Crawfordsburn some time in the 18th century.
The original Rademon House was gutted by fire in the 1950s, but was soon after rebuilt to the designs of the Hon. Clad Phillimore. The entire demesne comprises a whopping 544 acres.
Just to the front of the distillery, on a hill overlooking the patio, is a sandstone obelisk. It was one of the first things we noticed pulling up the the distillery. It was erected in the 1860s as a memorial to William Sharman-Crawford MP “by grateful and attached tenantry” – sounds like a decent bloke – bet he didn’t make his wife drive.
It had been threatening to rain all day, but thankfully the sun was still out when we arrived, meaning we could enjoy a lovely gin cocktail on the patio before the tour. When I say ‘we’ I mean Alan. I had a San Pellegrino… if I couldn’t drink I at least wanted to feel fancy. Alan opted for The Bay Tree Shortcross. He said it was absolutely lovely, just to rub it in.
The copper sculpture in the centre of the patio was designed by an artist friend of Seamus Heaney and a quote from the famous Irish poet graces the base – “History says, don’t hope on this side of the grave, but then, once in a lifetime the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme”… I think the fella himself like to partake of a gin or two.
Owner and Head Distiller David Boyd-Armstrong leads each tour, and trust me, this man knows his stuff. I’ll not spoil the tour with the intricate ins and outs of how they distill Shortcross, because to be honest, that would just spoil the whole experience for you. Once you step inside his distillery David will take you on a magical journey through the fascinating process, unlocking some of the secrets and skills that go into creating Shortcross. From how they forage local botanicals on the Rademon Estate, draw fresh water from the distillery well, distill in a bespoke copper pot still and bottle and label the finished product on site – this man is a certified gin master. Teach me sensei.
Their small batch philosophy ensures that every aspect of the gin meets their exacting vision, and by ‘their’ I mean David – he bravely takes one for the team and personally tastes every batch of gin that comes out of the distillery – a true hero, I salute you and envy you in equal measure. Shortcross Gin is bottled at 46% ABV.
The copper pot still was custom made to Shortcross’ bespoke specification by the oldest family of German still makers Carl – and she is a thing of beauty! With the aim to do things a little differently David and Fiona combined the best of old and new technology with a 450L copper pot still and two enrichment columns. Each enrichment column houses seven individual bubble plates enabling just the right level of reflux – a bit like indigestion – which helps to create a smooth and aromatic spirit when they distill. A recent addition to the distillery is the new, bigger version of the original copper pot still which is proudly displayed in the huge glass front of the distillery.
We also got to take a sniff off what could be the new venture – a single malt whiskey! Every week for the past couple of years, David and Fiona have been tucking away a barrel, ready to open in three years and one day (when it can be officially classified as a whiskey) and taste. David says that they aren’t big on letting it mature for a couple of decades, for him, if it tastes good they’ll bottle it. If it doesn’t they’ll leave it until it does taste good, and if it never tastes good, well then, that’ll be that. I love a good rich whiskey – feel free to send me any 21 year Bushmills you have in the cellar – and after getting a big sniff of what they have in those barrels I’m pretty sure they are on to a winner there. And if they need a taster I’ll be first in line to volunteer. David was tight-lipped about what barrels they had used, but I got a definitely sherry smell – I could be wrong, but it was a beautifully rich aroma.
The tour ends back in the Visitor Centre/Shortcross Gin Bar where iconic Shortcross gin glasses, filled with a generous measure of gin, had been placed around the tables ready for our guided tasting tour and mixing session.
The gin itself is aromatic and exceptionally smooth. It was crafted to be a classical gin with a unique twist, best described as floral meadows, wild berries and grassy notes – and you don’t necessarily have to roll about in that meadow on your own, especially after a few gins!
Its unique flavour profile is created using fresh apples, elderflowers, elderberries and wild clover foraged on the estate, distilled alongside classic gin botanicals although the final recipe is top secret. Fiona takes the tasting sessions herself and encourages everyone to really explore the flavours in the gin. After learning about the viscosity and consistency of the gin, we all took a deep sniff in our glass. Everyone took turns calling out what they thought the most powerful scent in the gin was. Mine was clover. Alan said juniper. Dishes filled with each of the foraged botanicals are then passed around the tables and everyone got a good sniff of each. After having a good sniff of the botanicals it was then back to the gin – hurrah! – and although the clover still came across most strongly to me, some other scents had appeared, if slightly milder. Alan also said he was getting a whiff of elderflower and apple – personally I think he was just fibbing to show off.
Volunteers were required for the cocktail making demonstration and of course I volunteered. So the perfect Shortcross Gin cocktail goes like this – put a healthy measure of gin in your fancy Shortcross Gin Copa de Balon glass (you get a free one when you do the tour – failing that a big wine glass would do), fill to the brim with ice, and I mean chokka full, get as much in there as you can. Then take your swanky copper bar spoon and run it round the inside of the glass to give the ice a good swirl and create a nice frosting of condensation. Next comes the super fun part, put your bar spoon in the centre of the glass and poke it down to the bottom of the ice, then pour your mixer of choice (we had elderflower tonic with ours) from the top of the spoon straight down into the glass. The liquid trickles down the spirals of the spoon and creates a lovely fizz in the glass. Fill to just below the Shortcross Gin logo. Next take a slice of orange and rub the peel around the rim of the glass, then pop it into the glass. Lastly comes the wild mint. Take a leaf and give it a smack between the palms of your hands to release the flavour, then pop it in your glass too. And voila! you have the perfect Shortcross Gin!
Oh and did you know that the name Shortcross comes from the Gaelic for Crossgar, ‘An Chrois Ghearr’, meaning ‘the short cross’. The penny brand stamp comes from a rough-edged copper coin from King Henry 11’s Dublin mint. One of these is even framed and hanging in the distillery – it’s pretty neat.
Alan loves a good nosey round a gift shop and surprisingly he remembered his promise to buy me a bottle of Shortcross Gin… I’m sure the £5-off token we received on arrival had absolutely nothing to do with this. As it stands I not only got a lovely bottle of Shortcross, but I also guilted Alan into a Kelticandles candle and my very own copper bar spoon – a gin is no longer the same without it. I almost had a nice bar of locally made soap too, but was too slow to make up my mind which scent I wanted – rookie mistake.
You can book yourself onto a tour at shortcrossgin.com, you can also find a list of stockists and the latest news – keep an eye out for the whiskey!